Trump heads to China amid Nvidia scandal: Will he get tougher on Beijing?

What the report says

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to Shenzhen next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit comes as Nvidia’s outgoing chief executive, Jensen Huang, faces scrutiny over ties to a former Megaspeed executive whom US officials suspect of links to Chinese intelligence. China has denied the allegation, and Nvidia said Huang would step down as chief executive on Thursday.

Al Jazeera reports that Huang has been an important figure in efforts to ease US-China friction over advanced chips. He lobbied for broader access to Nvidia’s AI products in China and accompanied Trump on a trip to Beijing in May, when hopes of unlocking sales of the H200 chip did not produce a breakthrough. Trump approved H200 exports to China in December 2025, despite criticism from China hawks, and has publicly defended Huang amid the scandal.

The article says the latest controversy is unlikely to change relations between Washington and Beijing right away. Analysts cited by Al Jazeera said the main pressure for a tougher US approach is coming from Congress and other hardliners, not from the Nvidia episode itself. Beijing has dismissed the US accusations as part of a broader effort to justify tighter technology restrictions. Still, both countries have incentives to keep talking because of the importance of Nvidia chips to Chinese buyers and the broader race over AI and semiconductor access.